Preservation of wood



. .L JOHNSTON PRESERVATION OF WOOD Filed April 17 1925 Patented Fehfj15, 1927.

- UNITED STATES A l l1,617,441 PATENT OFFICE.-

JonN JoHNs'ToN,- oENEWfHAYEm-CONNECTICUT, nss'eNon,` mz M-EsNE nasmN` ,-mENTs, To WESTERN ELEcTnId'coMPANY, INCORPORATED, A conPoPnTIoN or NEW Yorin;l j l PRESERVATION OF WOOD.

' Appucation mea April 17, 1925. serial No. 23,843.

This invention relates to wood preservatives and methods of applying the same and has particular reference to the preservation of poles such as telephone` or 'telegraph poles.

'In the artof preserving poles it is known that the decay of the timber is influenced by fungus growth and by the action of bacteria and that the destruction is especially prevalent in a zone near the ground level. In accordance with these facts, therefore, wood preservatives should preferably possess toxic or germicidal properties and from a practical point of view should be non-volatile, non-leachable, insoluble in water, preferably non-inflammable and non-corrosive. p

- In accordance with' these properties, liquid reservatives which will readily penetrate t e wood are generally employed to preservewood, the' distillates of coal tar, which com rise principally creosote oil and commercia" preparations, such as carbolini'- ums, being common preservative agents. It has been found, however, that preservatives of this type are expensive in comparison to the increased life they produce, and require long periods of time and large amounts of labor to satisfactorily linject them into woodvelements, such as poles for example.

It is anfobject of the invention toprovide a method of and means' for wood preservation which is cheap and which can be easily Aapplied to wood elements such as poles, for instance.

A feature of the invention is a preservative ,which is inexpensive, is easy to handlel and which may be applied either in liquid `or granular form or in solution, such a preservative being sulphur, for example.

Another feature of the invention is a means for and method of ap lying preservatives such as sulphur and t e like to poles -v .such as tel'ephone poles comprising va supporting ban adapted to enclose a layer of the said and being adapted to encircle the pole over the zone at ornear the-,surface -of the ground. y

The invention'will be more clearly understood from the detailed description to follow permanent. This consists briei reservative inA contact with the pole,

andpartly in section of a pole which has been treated in accordance with the-invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view along line 2-2 of Fig. 1. f

Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the portion out away in Fig. 1.

In accordance with one feature of the invention, there is provided a wood preservative which comprises sul hur, either in the crude or refined state, and) which may be applied in various forms as for example, a solution in solvent, a liquid in the melted form, and as a granular solid. It has been found that sulphur is obnoxious to many'types of orgamsms and this invention utilizes this fact for the preservation of wood. Sulphur or mixtures of sulphur with other substances but composed principally of sul hur, may be easily applied to wood surfaces, do not require an excessive quantity toQproduce satisfactory results, and are cheaper than the usual preservatives. l

One'rnethod of applying the preservatives of the mvention might be the use of a solvent, the pole or element to be preserved b elng immersed in a solution of the preservative. As pointed out above, however, this .method has the disadvantage of requiring a long period for the impregnation and a large amount of preservative. In accordancel with another feature of th invention, there is provided a method and means for a plying the preservative to the element to 'e preserved which comprises applying the reservative to the surface of the pole in a orm and in combination with such a structure'that it is both effective and l in putting on a superliclal application of t e preservative mixture either in the solid or dissolved state and limited to a relatively small zone nearthe ground level.

Referring to the figures of the drawings, there is represented a telephone pole 7 embedded in the soil 8 and encircled by a layer 13 of sulphur, which may be cast in place from molten sulphur. This layer of sulplur is supported bya bandy of material w ch acts primarllym -combination with the ole as a mold for a vmolten sulphur. In t ose' cases, where it is desirable to have a'durable protective surface around the layer of preservative, this band may be formed of some suitably rigid and durable material, Concom leted combination.

T 's mold or protective band preferably .com rises individual elements which are pre erably ofsome form to lfacilitate their application around the pole to form a continuous `band. In the case of cylindrical poles, for example, the band may comprise two semi-circular elements 10` and 11 which' are ada ted tobe bound together to form an integra unit by the sulphur itself or, when necessary, by a metal band 12.

Before application to the pole, elements 10 and 11 may be more or less impregnated with sulphur, when desired to insure a satisfactory bond between the protective elements 10 and 11 and the sulphur' itself, by'

bling'warmedand immersed in molten sul- P1 After the elements 10 and 11 have been fastened around the pole and the poley embedded in the soil the annular space between the concrete band andthe ole is lled with a mass 13 of molten sulp ur.,

The dimensions and compositions of the elements -10 and `11 may be considerably varied to meet the individual requirements in different cases. It may be desirable in some cases, for instance, to employ elements .which extend the entire length of the pole p below the surface of the ground, while in other cases the length may only need be suicient to protect the pole at or near the surface ofthe ound. In the preferred form, however, t ese elements will be placed in a position similar to that represented in the drawings.

Whileconcrete has `been specifically nientioned herein, it will be evident that other suitablematerials such as drain .tile for instance, will serve as substitutes for the cony crete in those instances' where a protective element is desired to enclose the sulphur. v

In those instances in which the Vband enclosing the sulphur need not be resistant to abrasion and to the corrosive action of the soil, it may be satisfactory to form this band doi some semi-permanent material to actonly as a moldfor the sulphur while in the molten state. Fibrous materials, such as cardboard and` paper, for example, might be used in such instances.

The'invention is not limited tothe specific .modes of application of the preservative April 15, v1902. When this method of application is employed the sulphur may be inserted in the form'of sticks or blocks or may be poured in-as molten sulphur and allowed to solidify in placef While specific means of ap lying the preservative have been describe herein, it will be understood that `'it is not intended to limit the preservative to these methods of applica.- tion alone, or these methods of application, to sulphur alone, but that all features of the invention are susceptible of various adaptations and modifications within the scope of the'appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a wooden member, a band composed of a cement composition surrounding said member, and a layer of sulphur applied in the molten condition between said band and said member.

'2..The method of preserving woolen elements which comprises forming a suitable band of concrete to surround the element to be preserved, placing said band around said element, and applying molten sulphur between said `element and said band.

.3. The method of preserving which com-y prises orming a suitable band-of` concrete to surround thev element to be reserved, impregnating at least as much oi) face of said band as is adjacent. said element with sulphur, placing said band around said element, and applying molten sulphur between said element and said band.

ln witness whereof l hereunto subscribe my name this 16th day of Apri-l A. D., 1925.

Jenn .animeren` the sur- 

